With mere seconds left to play in the game that would send his team to the state championship for the first time in school history and a comfortable 9-point lead, coach James McKeever was not yet ready to celebrate. From the sidelines he frantically waved his arms, signaling with almost panicky energy that might be typical of a coach in the inverse of his situation.

Throughout the first half of the NorCal Championships, the Eagles had trailed, then fought for a hard-earned three-point lead at the half. No one was more stunned than the Yellowjackets, who lost last year’s State Championship game to Long Beach Poly, when the Pleasant Grove newcomers pulled away with the lead. The game had been close until the final minutes; McKeever had stuck to a conservative rotation of players, and the Eagles’ second string had stuck to their warm-up sweats.

As the whistle blew with six seconds to play, McKeever whirled triumphantly to face his bench, animatedly ushering them onto the court.

The girls’ faces broke into huge smiles as their starters joined the huddle, cheering on as their replacements took the court.

“There are no egos on this team,” McKeever said of his girls, who will lead Pleasant Grove to their first state championship game in school history next week.